Returning to the "Paper Tigers" article by Yang, the author's opinion is that: Children raised according to the principles of East Asian cultures (like China, Korea, Japan etc) will do very well in school grades and exams but they are at a disadvantage in the business world and later life in America (it might not be a problem if living in Asia), compared to those children raised according to the principles of American culture.

He says that East Asian cultures value things like extensive academic learning and deference, while American culture values things like confidence, independence and socialization (Socialization is the process by which people, especially children, learn to how behave with others and become social and able to interact and socialize well with others).

Why does that affect becoming a business leader in the US? Because in business you have to be able to network and sell yourself. Sometimes Asian-Americans are not as comfortable with that as non-Asian-Americans; sometimes non-Asian-Americans simply assume that Asian-Americans are not confident or independent or comfortable socializing. And so Asian-Americans, for whatever reason, miss out on opportunities to rise up the corporate ladder in America.